Abstract
The Egyptian irrigation system depends mainly on canals that take water from the River Nile; nevertheless, the arid climate that dominates most of the country influences the high rate of water losses, mainly through evaporation. Thus, the main objective of this study is to develop a practical approach that helps to accommodate solar photovoltaic (PV) panels over irrigation canals to reduce the water evaporation rate. Meanwhile, a solar PV panel can contribute effectively and economically to an on-grid system by generating a considerable amount of electricity. A hybrid system includes a solar PV panel and a diesel generator. Several factors such as the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), total net present cost, loss of power supply probability, and greenhouse gas emissions should be considered while developing a technoeconomically feasible grid-connected renewable integrated system. A mathematical formulation for the water loss was introduced and the evaporation loss was monthly estimated. Thus, this study also aims to enhance an innovative metaheuristic algorithm based on a cuckoo search optimizer to show the way forward for developing a technoeconomic study of an irrigation system integrated with an on-grid solar PV panel designed for a 20-year lifespan. The results are compared using the mature genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization to delimit the optimal size and configuration of the on-grid system. The optimal technoeconomic feasibility is connected to the graphical information system to delimit the optimal length and direction of the solar PV accommodation covering the canals. Finally, based on the simulated results, the optimal sizing and configuration of the irrigation-system-integrated on-grid solar PV accommodation have less impact on the LCOE without violating any constraint and, at the same time, generating clean energy.
Highlights
Egypt’s agricultural land area is about 8.5 million feddans [1,2], or about 3.5% ofEgypt’s total area, a small area compared to its nutritional needs
Egypt’s agricultural activities consume more than 80% of the available quantity of water withdrawn from the River Nile; with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s construction, water scarcity is expected to be a severe issue in Egypt [6,7]
It is essential to find alternative sustainable solutions to reduce water losses due to evaporation and, at the same time, generate renewable energy, which would contribute to the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions
Summary
Egypt’s agricultural land area is about 8.5 million feddans [1,2], or about 3.5% ofEgypt’s total area, a small area compared to its nutritional needs. It is essential to find alternative sustainable solutions to reduce water losses due to evaporation and, at the same time, generate renewable energy, which would contribute to the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions. In this regard, the canal-top photovoltaic (PV) system is an emerging technology with rapidly increasing interest and application in practice [9,10,11,12]. Et al [10] studied a 10 MW canal-top PV plant’s performance and found that the PV’s efficiency was ten times greater than land-based PV power plants.
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